Wednesday, September 27, 2017

This Is NOT about Me...


Top of the evening to all, and especially to my readers from the United States.

It is impossible to miss the craziness going on in the US right now.  I fear for the country.  I have never been witness to the social fabric being so torn asunder.

One of the topics of overblown discussion is athletes from the NFL taking a knee during the Star-Spangled Banner.  It is their way of protesting police brutality.  Due to the President's response, it has also become the standard (pun intended) for demonstrating anti-Trump sentiments.

On one level, it is a free speech issue.  All those who refuse to stand for the national anthem are well within their legal rights to do so.  It must be noted though that football teams are private businesses.  Players are generally required to meet certain standards of demeanour within their contracts.  The New York Yankees require their players to maintain certain grooming standards.  It is in every contract.  For a team to fire a player over taking a knee is not a Constitutional matter of free speech.

Those who are taking a stand against kneeling and otherwise avoiding the anthem keep pointing to the military members who have put their lives on the line and sometimes paid the ultimate price in the defense of the nation.  Please do not make this about me.  It is not about the military.  It is not about those who have paid that ultimate price.  Those who take that risk did so out of love of country.  I also believe that those who would take a knee believe in America no less than those who have taken that risk.

And thus, love of country is the only thing that is relevant in this discussion.  If those who take a knee feel that the country they love needs to be called to task for its behaviour, then so be it.  Their love of country is no less than those who insist on standing.   I flatly disagree with those who take a knee, and am happy to discuss it with them, but perhaps they are bringing up issues that need to be considered.

Whatever the reasons for not taking a bow might be, please do not make me one of them.  This has nothing to do with veterans.  This has to do with the country.  Leave me out of it.

Have a good evening.

R/SCG

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie....

Top of the evening to all...

Most of the folks who have raised children in the last 25 years are familiar with the book by that title.  It tells us that if we give a mouse a cookie, he will want a glass of milk.  Then he will want something else, and something else, and something else.  The last page then says that the mouse will want a cookie.

Why did I choose that title?  I will tell you why.

If you wish to give a mouse a cookie, you will require an oven in which to bake that cookie.  By the way, for all that cookbooks will offer, and they offer plenty, Nestle's Toll House cookies are always the favourite around here.  Anyway, you will require an oven.

A year and a half ago, the oven died.  We replaced it.

The mouse will then want a glass of milk.  Earlier this year, I noticed that the light in the fridge did not go out when I closed the door.  The fridge light did, but it did not look like the door was sealing properly.  I put a flashlight in the fridge, and I was still able to see the light after closing the fridge.  Now the fridge has been replaced.

Then it was the cooktop.  We had an old cooktop.  It still had coils.  Two out of four coils did not work.  Batting .500 is great in baseball.  It does not work when cooking for Rosh HaShanah.  The cooktop went.  It has been replaced with a black, smooth appliance.

Our countertop is beige-y ivory, according to my beloved bride.  It does not match the cooktop.  Also, the fan on the oven hood often does not seal correctly, so cold air blows in from the outside.

I need a cookie.

Have a good evening.

R/SCG